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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Obstruction of Justice |
Sentence: |
"30 days suspended, informal probation, $305 fine" |
Years Imprisoned: |
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Year Crime: |
2014 |
Year Convicted: |
2014 |
Year Cleared: |
2015 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Nevada |
County or Region of Crime: |
Washoe |
City of Crime: |
Carson City |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"William Allen Scott was wrongly convicted on June 30, 2014 of the misdemeanor of obstructing a public officer on February 4, 2014 in Carson City, Nevada. Scott was the passenger in a car that was stopped by a police officer at 4:15 a.m. for failing to stop at a stop sign. When the officer asked the driver to submit to a sobriety test, Scott told the driver he didn’t have to take the test. Scott repeated that statement when the driver was again asked, and went on to state "his dad [was] a lawyer and he knows all about the law." The deputy threatened to arrest Scott if he did it again. When Scott interrupted a third time to tell the driver he didn't have to submit to a breathalyzer, he was arrested for obstructing a police officer. During Scott's trial the officer testified that after Scott's arrest he was very cooperative, and at no time did he threaten violence against the officer and he did not at any time encourage anybody else to fight. Scott was convicted of violating CCMC 8.04.050 (obstructing a police officer) following a bench trial in the Carson City Justice Court. Scott was sentenced to a suspended 30 day jail sentence, informal probation, fined $305, and ordered to undergo a substance abuse evaluation. Scott appealed to the district court, arguing that the municipal statute is unconstitutionally overbroad and vague because it restricts constitutional speech. The district court affirmed Scott's conviction on the basis that in its opinion the deputy did not arrest Scott for his speech, but rather for his conduct, i.e., the act of speaking in a way that interrupted the deputy's investigation. Scott appealed to the Nevada Supreme Court. Scott argued that CCMC 8.04.050(1) is unconstitutionally overbroad because it criminalizes speech protected by the First Amendment. On December 31, 2015 the Supreme Court reversed Scott's conviction in a majority 5 to 2 decision. The Court stated: “CCMC 8.04.050(1) is unconstitutionally overbroad because it “is not narrowly tailored to prohibit only disorderly conduct or fighting words.” Hill, 482 U.S. at 465. CCMC 8.04.050(1) is unconstitutionally vague because it lacks sufficient guidelines and gives the sheriff too muchdiscretion in its enforcement. Accordingly, we grant Scott's petition anddirect the clerk of this court to issue a writ of certiorari instructing the district court to vacate its order denying Scott’s appeal. We further remand to the district court with instructions to enter an order reversing Scott’s conviction in part on the grounds that CCMC 8.04.050(1) is unconstitutional on its face ...” Scott v. District Court (State), 131 Nev. Advance Opinion 101 (2015). The two dissenters concurred that Scott’s conviction should be reversed, but disagreed that the statute was unconstitutional. " |
Conviction Caused By: |
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Innocence Proved By: |
"On December 31, 2015 the Nevada Supreme Court reversed Scott's conviction on the basis Carson City Municipal Code 8.04.050(1) he had been convicted of violating "is unconstitutionally overbroad because it "is not narrowly tailored to prohibit only disorderly conduct or fighting words." And, "CCMC 8.04.050(1) is unconstitutionally vague because it lacks sufficient guidelines and gives the sheriff too much discretion in its enforcement." (Scott v. District Court & State of Nevada, 131 Nev. Advance Opinion 101 (NSC 2015)" |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
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Age When Released: |
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Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
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Information Source 1: |
"William Allen Scott v. District Court & State of Nevada, 131 Nev. Advance Opinion 101 (Nev. Sup. Ct., 12-31-2015) (En banc) (Reversing conviction)" |
Information Location 1: |
http://caseinfo.nvsupremecourt.us/document/view.do?csNameID=35533&csIID=35533&deLinkID=535598&sireDocumentNumber=15-40141 |
Information Source 2: |
"Carson City ordinance ruled unconstitutional: man's conviction overturned, By Geoff Dornan, Nevada Appeal, January 1, 2016" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.nevadaappeal.com/news/local/19927237-113/carson-city-ordinance-ruled-unconstitution-mans-conviction-overturned# |
Information Source 3: |
"William Allen Scott v. District Court & State of Nevada, No. 67331131 (Nev. Sup. Ct.) (Petition for Writ of Certiorari, 1-30-2015)" |
Information Location 3: |
http://caseinfo.nvsupremecourt.us/document/view.do?csNameID=35533&csIID=35533&deLinkID=496923&sireDocumentNumber=15-03250 |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org